Brigit

This week I’m going to expand on last week’s Brighid post by sharing a bit of my own experiences with her. Brighid, while not my Patron Goddess, has been with me for a while. She is the one who sparks my creative fires, fans the flames of my desires, and helps me to remain compassionate even when facing adversity.

I cannot remember what year it was that I first became aware of her, but I do remember the circumstance. I was trying to think of something to paint for a friend whose son was in need of healing, and was at a complete loss of ideas. I started looking through my books, magazines and the internet for inspiration. I came across the same image of Brighid (Brighid of the Hearth By Artist Mickie Mueller) a few times, and was drawn to it. It led me to start looking into info about Brighid, and when I discovered she ruled creativity, inspiration & healing, I asked her for her help. The next day, I knew what I would paint, and I began to work. I infused each stroke of my brush with healing energy. I worked on it for weeks, pausing to thank her every day.

When I was done, I was quite pleased with my results. Mainly because I had never painted with acrylics before…and hadn’t painted anything AT ALL in about 15+ years, but also because the image on the canvas matched the image that I had had in my head (I was kind of amazed by this, lol). I then took a picture of it, so that I could concentrate the energy on the photo and “recharge” the painting when necessary.

When I began working on that painting, I felt an instant kinship with Brighid. Perhaps because of my Irish Ancestry, but I think more so because I see her as the prime example of womanhood…at least a prime example for me. She is a Healer, a Diviner, at One with the Animals and she is Creativity. She exudes an heir of femininity, and yet, she is fierce and strong. Her association with Smith Craft reminds us that if we can endure and survive our ‘Trials by Fire’ we will come out the other side much stronger than we were before.

Now that I’m reflecting, I think she has been with me far longer than I have been aware of her. I’ve always been the creative type…with a slight fascination with fire <Insert Beavis excitedly repeating “Fire! Eheheheh Fire! Fire! Fire!” here 😉 >. I have been forged stronger through the flames of multiple trials, and have been called to be a Healer as well. Every time I have had an inexplicable drive to write something…every time I have had the fire within my belly rage into an inferno so that I may become fierce and defend myself in a dangerous situation…every time I tap into the waters of emotion and compassion for the purpose of healing myself or someone else, She is with me.

Below is a chart of correspondences that I’ve been compiling for a while, and have now finally put into a referable format. I’m sure it is by no means a complete list, but it should be enough to help you along if you’re new to working with Brighid.

Brighid Correspondences

Meaning of Name

The Exalted One, The Bright One, Fiery Arrow, The Powerful One, The High One

Honored by many pagans at Imbolc; Brighid is the Irish Celtic Goddess of Fire: the Fire of Poetic Inspiration and Divination, the Fire of Healing and Fertility, and the Fire of Metal-Working and Crafts.

Brighid has been revered throughout Ireland since the time of the Tuatha de Danann and was such an integral part of the people’s lives that she was incorporated into Christianity as St. Brigid of Kildare in the 7th century CE.

According to Cormac’s Glossary, a 10th century compilation from oral tradition, she is said to be ‘a Goddess whom poets worshiped’ and patron of healing and smithcraft. She was venerated not only as Brighid, but also as Bride, Briginda, Brigidu, and in North Britain as Briganda, which can be translated as ‘High One or Exalted One’. Other titles include; ‘Ash-less Flame’, ‘Flame of Two Eternities’, and ‘Mother of All Wisdom’.

She was worshiped as St. Brigid in an Irish convent at Kildare, which means the church of the Oak-tree. This was the site of an ancient temple in which a perpetual, ash-less fire burned (this suggests it was a sort of lamp, perhaps fed by oil, tallow or butter). In later Christian times, when the nuns kept the fire burning using wood, the ashes were said to miraculously vanish. In 1220 A.D., the Archbishop of Dublin decided that the fire-cult was ‘pagan’ and ordered the flame to be extinguished. After his death the nuns rekindled the flame until the Reformation when the entire convent was suppressed.

Next Week: I’ll be giving some Correspondences and other such stuffs. 🙂